MacFarlane's New Film is Classic MacFarlane, For Good and Bad: Our Review of "A Million Ways to Die in the West" (2014)

Directed By: Seth MacFarlane (Ted) 

Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Neil Patrick Harris, Amanda Seyfried

Rating: R for strong crude and sexual content, language throughout, some violence and drug material

Run Time: 1 hour, 56 minutes

Synopsis: Albert (MacFarlane), a cowardly sheep-farmer, gets dumped by his girlfriend Louise (Seyfried) in favor of the more dashing and richer Foy (Harris). During a bar brawl, Albert steps up and saves the new girl in town, Anna (Theron), from being seriously hurt. Impressed by Albert's heroics and wanting to help him win Louise back, Anna helps train Albert in gun-shooting so he can win a duel with Foy. But unbeknownst to Albert, Anna is the reluctant wife of Clinch Leatherwood (Neeson), the deadliest outlaw in the land, and who will eventually be arriving in town.

REVIEW

Andrew: Hello dear readers! We're back yet again after seeing only one of this past weekend's two big releases, Seth MacFarlane's new comedy A Million Ways to Die in the West. This is MacFarlane's second feature film directorial effort following the smash hit that was Ted. This time he took things to the Old West and decided to cast himself in the star role of Albert, a cowardly sheep-farmer, but surrounded himself with some more than capable actors in Charlize Theron, Neil Patrick Harris, Amanda Seyfried and Liam Neeson to name a few.

Sarah, as some of our readers might know, we're big fans of MacFarlane's work with Family Guy and we loved Ted. So we were certainly looking forward to seeing how this one would fare. And now that we've seen A Million Ways to Die in the West, how did you feel it fared?

Sarah: Yes, I was really looking forward to this one. To say we're big fans is a bit of an understatement. Family Guy is pretty much quoted once a day, at least, in this house. 

Now that we've seen A Million Ways to Die in the West, I have to say, I'm a little let down. And here's why: it wasn't because of the jokes, those were gold, it was that we heard all of them in the trailers! There were some great set-ups for the jokes that we had already seen, but it was still a disappointment because we knew the punch-lines. What did you think?

Two Tickets For... Our Oscars Analysis & Predictions: Best Animated Feature, Best Original Song & Best Visual Effects

Andrew: Hello readers! It's that time again where Sarah and I finally start breaking down the nominees for the 85th Academy Awards that will be held on Sunday, February 24th! Last year we did it in a pretty basic way and it seemed to go over pretty well, and we really don't want to over-do it this year, so we'll stick to a relatively similar format. 

A difference this year, though, will be the order in which we break down the different categories. Starting with this post, we will break down the Oscar nominees in the following categories on these days:

Monday, February 18th: Best Animated Feature, Best Original Song and Best Visual Effects

Tuesday, February 19th: Best Original & Adapted Screenplays, and Best Director

Wednesday, February 20th: Best Supporting Actor & Actress

Thursday, February 21st: Best Actor & Actress

Friday, February 22nd: Best Picture and full list of predictions

So Sarah, let's kick off our analysis and predictions for this year's Oscars, shall we?

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

The nominees for Best Animated Feature are:

- Brave (Pixar)

- Wreck-It Ralph (Disney Animations)

- Frankenweenie (Disney Animations)

- ParaNorman (Laika)

- The Pirates! Band of Misfits (Aardman Animations)

Sarah's Top Ten Films of 2012! (And Andrew's Bottom Five!)

Sarah: Hello movie lovers and Happy New Year! We are so looking forward to the new year and all the great new movies that it has to offer! I gotta say, I'm pretty excited that the world didn't end because we would have seriously missed out on some good ones. So in response to the new year, Andrew and I are going to be looking back a little and bring you each of our favorite films from 2012. There will probably be some overlap but I can guarantee that we liked some movies for very different reasons.

Like we did with our two Top Ten List of 2012 So Far, we have some criteria for these lists: the films included have to be films we’ve actually seen and reviewed, and they had to be films that were released in theatres for public consumption in the United States during the 2012 calendar year. If you don't see a movie on this list, you can check it against our Reviews page and it's possible we just didn't see it, so it didn't qualify for our list.

At the bottom of my list you'll also be able to find Andrew's Bottom Five of 2012. You'll have to check out his Top Ten list to see what my bottom five were. Okay! I'm going to do my list in the countdown method, after the jump. Here we go...

DVD Court: December 11th Releases

Andrew: Hello readers! Some of you might know this and others may not, but every week Sarah and I are called in for jury duty. I mean...well, not as in we actually go down to a courthouse and listen to a prosecuting and defense attorney argue over someone's crime. We don't do that every week. Could you imagine if we did? Yikes.

No, what I mean is that every week Sarah and I are called in by our buddy, Nick, over at The Cinematic Katzenjammer to partake as members of his 12-panel jury for his DVD Court column. Each week sees the release of a new batch of movies on DVD and Blu-ray, and each week we, along with 11 other movie blogs, give our personal rulings on whether you, dear readers, should Buy, Rent, Skip or Burn the new films that have come out for your home viewing pleasure. 

It's a simple exercise and one we love being a part of. So every week we'll be posting a link to Nick's site with its swanky new design so you can see what we and our fellow jurors have decreed.

This week's new releases on DVD and Blu-ray: Seth McFarlane's Ted, Ice Age 4: Continental Drift, and The Bourne Legacy.

Click HERE to enter the courtroom at The Cinematic Katzenjammer!

Sarah & Andrew's Top Ten Lists for 2012 So Far! (October Update)

Andrew: Hello readers! So 2012 is juuuuust over three-quarters of the way over and so Sarah and I thought it would be a perfect time for us to update our individual Top Ten lists of the year! As you may recall from our Top Ten list we made at the beginning of July that covered the first half of the year (which you can find HERE), we had some similarities between our two lists but also some noticeable differences. Well this time we’ve seen 27 movies since that first list and so there are some notable names added to our new lists that have caused others to fall out.

Again, the only criteria for our lists are: they have to be films we've actually seen and reviewed and they had to be films that were first released in theatres for public consumption in the United States in the year 2012. So with that said, check out our respective lists and let us know what you think!

SARAH'S TOP TEN LIST OF 2012 (SO FAR!)

1.) The Avengers: This is still (in my opinion) the best movie of the year. It was just so fun and was everything a superhero movie should have been. The action paired with a phenomenal cast shot this movie to #1 for many weeks in a row. This was such a fun movie to go to and it fed into the other Marvel movies so seamlessly. (Read our 5/5 review)

2.) The Dark Knight Rises: The final installment in Nolan's Batman series was epic and left us wanting more! I loved Bane, even though I could have stood to have seen a little more of him. This movie makes me really wish that in two years we would be seeing a fourth Batman movie starring Bale! Alas, it is not to be… (Read Sarah's 4.5/5 review)

3.) Prometheus: This just still goes back to my love of the Alien movies and getting a little more of that back-story was exciting! While it was not exactly a "prequel" it was still so cool and had a great cast that really brought the world that Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley would later inhabit to life. (Read our 4.5/5 review)

Sarah & Andrew's Top Ten Lists for 2012 (So Far!)

Andrew: Hello readers! We're doing a little something different this week in lieu of a weekly preview, since The Amazing Spider-Man and Savages are two of the big three coming out this weekend and we've already review them (click on their titles to read our reviews if you'd like).

So, with that in mind and seeing as this year is already halfway over, both Sarah and I are going to post our respective Top Ten Films (So Far) of 2012! The only criteria being that they had to be films we've actually seen and reviewed (so our apologies for not having something like Moonrise Kingdom on our lists) and they had to be films that were first released in theatres for public consumption in the United States in the year 2012.

Without further ado, here are our lists!

SARAH'S TOP TEN LIST OF 2012 (SO FAR)

1.) The Avengers: This movie was everything a superhero movie should have been. The action paired with a phenomenal cast shot this movie to #1 for many weeks in a row. This was such a fun movie to go to and it fed into the other Marvel movies so seamlessly. I'm excited to see where the next Iron Man and Thor movies pick up from here! (Our 5/5 review)

2.) Prometheus: This epic film satisfied my need for another Alien movie. While it was not exactly a "prequel" it was still so cool and had a great cast that really brought the world that Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley would later inhabit to life. (Our 4.5/5 review)

3.) Savages: I really don't know why I loved this movie so much. It was sexy and violent. This probably speaks a little more about me that any of you cared to know, but there it is. I thought that the relationship between Ben, Chon and Ophelia was very interesting and I also enjoyed the directing style Oliver Stone went with. (Our 3/5 review)

4.) Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted: I love these movies. I don't care that I'm a 23-year-old woman, these movies are hilarious. And this one was just a great addition to the wayward zoo animal collection. (Our 4/5 review)

5.) Ted: Hilarious. Seth MacFarlane. Mark Wahlberg. Most of the cast from Family Guy. Nuf said. (Our 4.5/5 review)

6.) Rock of Ages: I am also a big fan of musicals. It could be because I sang in high school and was in a couple of musicals. It could also be because my husband has gotten me turned on to 80s rock music. Whatever the reason, this movie took me back to a time that I wish I remembered and could have grown up through. Tom Cruise rocked as rock god Stacee Jaxx and could make any woman swoon in the theatre! (Our 4/5 review)

7.) Magic Mike: While I wasn't as big of a fan of this  movie as Andrew was, I do think that Channing Tatum is a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood. He started out as a beefcake dancer in Step Up and has quickly turned into a heavy-hitter in comedies and dramas alike. (Our 3.5/5 review)

8.) The Hunger Games: I liked these books. I usually then have a hard time seeing the movies without being overly critical. It's probably not fair but that's the way it is. This movie however kept incredibly close to the books while still putting a cinematic spin on things. It makes me hopeful for the next 2 movies! (Our 4.5/5 review)

9.) 21 Jump Street: Another Channing Tatum movie that featured some great action scenes and hilarity. This remake of a classic 80s TV show was so entertaining and funny! (Our 4.5/5 review)

10.) Chronicle: "Found footage" movies are not my usual cup of tea but for some reason this film did it for me. It was an interesting character study and overall was pretty awesome. (Our 4.5/5 review)

ANDREW'S TOP TEN LIST OF 2012 (SO FAR)

1.) The Avengers: It might not necessarily be Oscar-worthy, but this epic superhero film is pretty much everything you could ask for out of a popcorn flick. It’s fun, exciting, dramatic, bombastic…I could go on and on. The culmination of Marvel’s efforts to create an interweaving world for their characters on the big screen is a rousing success. The bantering between Robert Downey, Jr.’s Tony Stark and Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner is worth the price of admission alone.

2.) The Cabin in the Woods: My favorite film genre is horror, so this “loving hate letter” to the genre by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard is pitch-perfect. The best deconstruction of horror films since Wes Craven’s Scream, I genuinely enjoyed every aspect of this movie. Bradley Whitford and Richard Jenkins are a hoot, the group of stock characters that are knocked off one-by-one nail their parts, and it’s a legitimate slasher film. And I can’t forget to mention the whiteboard. (Our 5/5 review)

3.) 21 Jump Street: The best studio comedy of the year would have had me rolling in the aisle if we weren’t sitting in the middle of the row. Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill are perfect together, and who knew Tatum was this good at comedy? There hasn’t been an R-rated buddy cop movie this good in a long time, so this was a refreshing change of pace. It was also refreshing to see them flip the script and make Tatum’s “jock” the outcast and Hill’s “dork” one of the popular kids.

4.) Seeking a Friend for the End of the World: Led by another great performance by Steve Carell and his surprisingly good chemistry with Keira Knightley, this dark comedy caught me off guard by making me really think about what I would do if I knew the world was ending in 3 weeks. The realistic portrayals throughout the entire movie made the proceedings easy to relate to. A fantastic effort all around to make you care even though you know where the film is headed. (Our 4.5/5 review)

5.) Sound of My Voice: This film had a great mystery to it that kept you wondering and thinking even after it ended. It’s helped by its atmosphere and the performances by Brit Marling and Christopher Denham. I loved going down the rabbit hole into the cult the two main characters, Peter and Lorna, try to infiltrate and expose as a fraud. A small budget sci-fi film with strong performances and a stronger story are always appreciated, but it's the staying power the gives it such a high ranking for me. (Our 4/5 review)

6.) The Hunger Games: A near perfect adaptation of Suzanne Collin’s novel led by a killer performance (no pun intended) by Jennifer Lawrence, it’s obvious the director Gary Ross cared very much about the source material and wanted to stay faithful to it. Yes he trimmed and/or added some things, but it made for a great action film, and if your reaction to the people in the Capitol was disgust, well then Ross did his job perfectly. It’s a real shame he won’t be coming back for Catching Fire.

7.) Prometheus: I may be in a minority, but I was able to look over some of the flaws in Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel and see it for what it is: a very good sci-fi/horror film in its own right. It was tense and atmospheric if not scary; had some good performances, particularly from Michael Fassbender; and it’s the best use of 3D I’ve personally seen since Avatar. Was it perfect? No, but I didn’t have untouchable expectations for it either, so I thoroughly enjoyed it.

8.) Chronicle: A great twist on the superhero origin and one of the best uses of the “found footage” genre, this film was a pleasant surprise. Strong performances by all the lead actors, strong writing that made me invested in the proceedings, and great directing by Josh Trank made this an all-around solid movie. I particularly liked the gimmick of having the characters use their telekinetic powers to float the camera around them so they could all be in the shot. Just a gem of a movie that shined brightest during the usually craptastic February releases.

9.) Ted: The second-funniest movie that we’ve seen this year, Seth MacFarlane’s feature film directorial debut is VERY similar to his show Family Guy. We happen to love Family Guy, so we appreciated the humor here. Is it deep? Of course not. But it’s raunchy and offensive as hell, and most of it comes out of an amazing CGI animated teddy bear. The all-in performance by Mark Wahlberg is just the cherry on top.

10.) The Vow: Surprised I included a chick-flick in the top ten? If you read our review you shouldn’t be. Channing Tatum’s performance as a husband who has to deal with his wife’s amnesia and not remembering their live together at all absolutely killed me. Rachel McAdams nailed her role as the amnesiac wife, so the pairing of the two just created a relationship that got me hook, line and sinker. (Our 4/5 review)

(Honorable Mention goes to Rock of Ages. It was thiiiiiiissss close to beating The Vow.)

Let us know what you think of our lists! We'd love to hear what our readers' Top Ten films of the year so far are!

Photo Courtesy: Teaser-Trailer

Our Preview of This Week's New Releases (For Friday, June 29th)

Andrew: Hello readers! It's time yet again for our preview of this week's new theatrical releases. Now, we have three new movies coming out this weekend but we're only going to preview two of them because we got the chance to channel our inner big-time movie reviewer by seeing an advanced screening of Seth MacFarlane's feature film directorial debut Ted, starring Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and MacFarlane himself as the voice of Ted. You can find our review of that by clicking HERE.

So instead, Sarah, we'll focus on the other two big releases this weekend, starting with one I'm sure A TON of women have been looking forward to - Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike. It stars one of this year's breakout stars, Channing Tatum, as a male stripper who has ambitions to eventually start his own furniture design company. The film also stars Alex Pettyfer (I Am Number Four) as Adam, a 19-year-old kid that Tatum's Mike sees something in, so he takes him under his wing, gets him a job at the club and dubs him "The Kid." Oh, and Mike has the hots for Adam's sister, Brooke, who is played by Cody Horn (who I only recognize from a few episodes of The Office).

Sarah, I think I've talked enough about the basic premise of the movie, so you take it from here.

Sarah: Well from what I can surmise from the trailers, I would say that this movie is going to make most men seem inadequate. Filled with some of Hollywood's sexiest leading men (like White Collar’s Matt Bomer and True Blood’s Joe Manganiello), who seem to remain mostly shirtless, Magic Mike promises to be most women's fantasy. Tatum has had a great year so far with 21 Jump Street and The Vow. His new film, super loosely based on his real life, is the one that I have been looking forward to the most. His humor and charm is going to bring the throngs of women out to the theatres this weekend, along with his stunning six-pack.

Official Trailer for Magic Mike

A: I'm actually looking forward to seeing this because the trailer looks funny and because it's a Soderbergh movie. He's a different kind of director in that he's not going to just focus on the stripping part, I expect him to go into the reasons why Mike and his co-workers really do what they do, how it effects they're lives, etc. Essentially I think this movie will be deeper than it looks at first blush.

S: Agreed. It looks like it is going to be just a fun movie all around! I expect there to be a decent amount of laughter, although probably not as much as there was in Ted (seriously people, if there's a comedy you must see, it's Ted).

Now the second movie that we are going to be seeing this weekend is People Like Us. A little less humor and more heartwarming, this movie is about a young man, Sam (played by Chris Pine, Star Trek) whose recently deceased and estranged father has left him $50,000 and the knowledge that he has a sister, Frankie (played by Elizabeth Banks, The Hunger Games). His father has left him instructions to give the money to his sister, who also has no idea that she has a brother. Sam is left with the dilemma: does he give Frankie, a woman he didn't know existed, the money or does he use the money to pay off his debts? I think this looks like a really great movie filled with actors who are just fantastic.

A: I didn't know a whole lot about People Like Us until last week when I started reading up on it, and now I'm very much looking forward to seeing it. I like the two main leads, but more importantly, I'm interested to see the directorial debut for Alex Kurtzman. Kurtzman is better known for co-writing or co-producing a number of the last few year's biggest films with Roberto Orci. Check this list out:

- Mission: Impossible III (writer)

- Transformers (writer)

- Star Trek (writer/executive producer)

- The Proposal (executive producer)

- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (writer)

- Cowboys & Aliens (writer/producer)

- Star Trek Sequel (writer/producer)

And he's one of the creators/executive producers of the television show Fringe, and an executive producer for TV's Hawaii Five-O. The Transformers movies and Cowboys & Aliens aren't great, but it's still a solid pedigree of writing and producing. So I'm interested in seeing how he does as a director, too.

 Official Trailer for People Like Us

S: I have heard that this movie is really sweet and that Michelle Pfeiffer and Olivia Wilde are great additions to the cast.

A: Oh, and we should mention there are actually FOUR movies coming out in wide release this week, because Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection also comes out today, but honestly we're not going to see it and have no desire to see it and would rather not recognize its existence. I actually don't mind the concept of Eugene Levy playing a Wall Street man who unwittingly was part of a corporate scheme and whose family is put into witness protection, it's the Madea aspect we're not hot on. No offense to Tyler Perry (cuz we kind of ripped him a bit earlier this week, too.)

But yeah! We'll definitely be seeing Magic Mike and People Like Us this weekend, so be on the lookout for those reviews!

S: And also a big THANK YOU to all of our readers! Because of you our small movie review blog had over 1,500 page views in June and we broke that record this month in only 26 days!!! So THANK YOU for your continued support!

Oh How We Wish We Had a Stuffed Animal Like This!: Our Review of "Ted" (2012)

Directed By: Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy)

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane

Rating: R for crude and sexual content, pervasive language and some drug use

Synopsis: When 8-year-old John Bennett gets a teddy bear for Christmas one year, he names him Teddy and wishes he were alive so they can be friends forever. Magically he gets his wish and 27 years later they’re still best buds, but John (Wahlberg) and Ted’s (voiced by MacFarlane) lazy and dependent lifestyle is ticking off John’s long-time girlfriend, Lori. How will John be able to balance his two relationships without losing either one?

REVIEW

Andrew: Hello readers! Sarah and I just got out of a advance screening of Seth MacFarlane’s feature film directorial debut Ted starring Mark Wahlberg (The Departed), Mila Kunis (Friends With Benefits) and MacFarlane himself as the voice of the titular teddy bear.

Sarah, we haven’t had a chance to preview this film on our site because it doesn’t go wide until this weekend, but this is one we’ve DEFINITELY been looking forward to ever since we saw the first trailer. Now that we’ve seen it, what do you think?

Sarah: It was awesome! It was hilarious. It was a laugh-a-minute movie – if it wasn’t always a big belly laugh it was chuckles all the time. I loved it.

A: I’m not quite sure if this is the funniest film we’ve seen this year, because 21 Jump Street was pretty freaking funny, but it might have topped it. This is your classic MacFarlane humor. There’s a fair amount of topical humor, and only a couple of his signature cutaway jokes that he gets criticized for (which are pretty damn funny in this film), but it’s very raunchy and it’s certainly offensive. No one is off-limits here.

This is going to be one whereas 21 Jump Street was funny but not very quotable, this one is going to be VERY quotable. It’s more in line with Anchorman, Wedding Crashers, those kinds of films.

John (Wahlberg) and Ted singing their "Thunder Song" is probably going to be quoted for years to come. We're definitely singing it during thunderstorms from now on!

A: There are just a lot of great one-liners and it’s just a dirty, raunchy movie with a lot of those dirty jokes coming out of a walking, talking teddy bear. You’d think the gimmick would get old pretty fast but it doesn’t. And again, I have to stress that while there’s a lot of offensive jokes (a few that even made me say, “Wow,”), MacFarlane is an equal-opportunity offender.

S: Right off the bat there’s a joke about Christmas and Jews.

A: Yeah, so right from the get-go you get an idea of what kind of movie this is going to be.

S: So you either accept it from the beginning or you won’t. They’re not trying to be discrete here. I was actually surprised they didn’t pull any blatant, stars-of-today jokes. They only did a couple, one at the beginning and one at the end.

A: There are a lot of older references, which is another trademark of MacFarlane, some of which I think some people won’t get. I love that the 1980 film Flash Gordon is quite a big part of the film, actually. I loved it because my favorite band of all-time, Queen, did the soundtrack for that film and they use a lot of those songs in Ted.

So Ted, the character, was incredibly funny. MacFarlane was pitch-perfect voicing the animated toy. Yes, he sounded a lot like Peter Griffin…

S: Which they do make a reference to!

A: But I’m wondering how you felt Wahlberg and Kunis did having to act against a CGI character?

S: I thought they did a great job, not only against a CGI character but with the comedic humor MacFarlane has. They both have comedic chops…

A: And Mila is kind of the straight-man in the film…

S: She is, but she does have her moments, too. And she GETS it.

A: And I think that comes from being a MacFarlane regular as the voice of Meg on Family Guy. Which reminds me, I kept thinking during the film about how there’s a running gag on Family Guy that Meg gets the short-end of the stick (especially in the Family Guy Star Wars episodes, she’s barely in them) but I think Seth made it up to her.

S: She got a starring role in his film, so yeah, he made it up to her. And you know what? I had completely forgot she was in Family Guy.

Mila Kunis, who stars as Meg Griffin on MacFarlane's Family Guy, does a fine job playing the straight-man to John and Ted's immaturity.

But here’s the thing, and I want to get your opinion on this – I felt a lot of the time that we were watching a live-action Family Guy episode, with how the jokes were delivered. Obviously that’s MacFarlane’s style, it’s what you come to expect from anything he touches, and I’m sure it didn’t bother you but do you think it might bother some others? What would you say to people who say, “It’s just a live-action Family Guy with a talking teddy bear instead of Peter?”

A: If anyone complains about that I would say, “What did you expect?” They’re not hiding it. It’s FROM the creator of Family Guy, he sounds like Peter Griffin, obviously Seth has a certain kind of humor and it’s successful. That’s why he has three shows.

So yes, at times it may have felt like a live-action Family Guy, but it’s not. There ARE elements – from the comedic styling of MacFarlane, but…like let’s take a look at Ted. Yes he sounds like Peter, but he’s NOT Peter. He’s not stupid, he’s smart. Peter can be mean a lot in the show, Ted isn’t in the slightest. He loves John and he just wants to make things right.

So I think that leads to a big point in this movie: if you DON’T like the show Family Guy, this isn’t the movie for you. But if you love the show or you’re even just a casual fan where you catch a part of it on TBS or something, laughed and then changed the channel, you’ll find a lot of things funny here.

S: I loved the situational humor. It’s smart, clever and it’s just fun the entire time. There are many times my jaw dropped because I couldn’t believe what was just said or done.

A: This is the film The Dictator wanted to be.

S: Yes!

A: A lot of similar types of jokes they’re going for, but those jokes work here.

S: Same with That’s My Boy.

A: Yes, this is what those two films were trying to be and failed at. Ted has heart, it’s genuinely funny, and you don’t go into this looking for a deep, meaningful story. There’s a boy and girl who have a conflict over the bear, yes. But there’s also a subplot involving Giovanni Ribisi (Avatar), as a guy who wants to buy Ted from John, that I found added a bit to the film.

S: Because it turned it dark!

A: Yeah, and I found it unexpected going into the movie. And during the course of the movie I forgot about him, so when he came back into play it worked on two levels for me.

S: It’s one of those conflicts that happens in the film but didn’t even give a hint about in the trailer. From the trailer you expect the film to be just a conflict between the girl and the bear…

A: There’s just more to the movie than we expected, which was good.

A young John Bennett wishes for his new teddy bear to come to life so they can be friends forever. With Patrick Stewart narrating. It's almost as awesome as an Apache helicopter.

S: And it was just a fun movie. This was one where the whole audience laughed together. There were no points when it was just us laughing, like with Dark Shadows. The whole theatre enjoyed it.

If you have children and saw the trailer and thought your kids would love to see it, NO. It’s VERY raunchy. Don’t let the cute, cuddly teddy bear fool you.

A: A couple of other quick points: there were some great cameos…

S: FANTASTIC cameos. And there are cast members from Family Guy …

A: Yep, Patrick Warburton and Alex Borstein were in it, so it was cool MacFarlane threw them in there.

S: Patrick Stewart was the narrator and darn near steals the beginning of the movie.

A: And I loved the music, because it was a lot of symphony stuff like Seth uses for his shows, and the animation for Ted was amazing. He looked incredibly real and fit right in with the real world actors and surroundings. It helped the impact of the film so much I can’t even explain it.

S: Real quick, something I loved about these actors being in it is that there is this group of actors who have surrounded MacFarlane and recognized that he just wants to make people laugh. Yes, maybe his style is simpler than the South Park guys because it’s more relatable to everyone. They make fun of everyone in a way you don’t have to think too hard about.

A: And for any MacFarlane critics, there are absolutely no political overtones or jokes in the film. There are jokes about 9/11 but they’re not political. So there’s none of his left-wing stuff or atheistic stuff, so don’t worry about that.

So we loved, and just in general, if you love or like Family Guy, you’ll enjoy Ted.

S: We hope that you guys see it this weekend because it’s a lot of fun.

A: I can guarantee that we’ll be buying this the first day it comes out.

(Out of Five Clapboards)

 Photo Courtesies: The Reel Bits, Front Towards Gamer, JoBlo, About.com